Payroll Specialist - Vancouver

$75,000 - $83,000 a year

Payroll Specialist (Vancouver-based, US Experience)

Location: Hybrid (3 days in Vancouver Office)

Type: Full-time

Compensation: 75,000-83000 CAD dependent on experience.

About the Role

Hi, I’m Anna, CFO at Zen Educate. We’re looking for a Payroll Specialist based in Vancouver who brings strong financial and payroll experience in both the US and Canada.

As we rapidly grow across the UK and US, finance is playing an increasingly strategic role. We need someone who thrives on ownership, is great at building efficient systems, and can confidently navigate the financial requirements of a business growing at pace.

About Zen

Zen Educate is a technology company that matches schools with temporary educator staff. Our mission is to change the world of education recruitment. Schools spend over $9bn a year on temporary educators, with over $2bn per year of that spent on fees that take money out of the education system. By leveraging the latest technology, we purpose built a platform that helps schools to pay less while educators earn more.

We want students to have access to the best education possible, and we go the extra mile to find, onboard, match, and coach incredible educators that deeply care about their students. We wake up every day on a mission to care more. We care more about our schools. And we care more about our educators. 

This is your chance to make a difference and join a high growth tech startup on the ground floor. We are a collaborative company, and the career growth opportunities are endless if you are someone willing to dive in, be entrepreneurial, and do whatever is needed to get the job done. We are passionate about learning and development, and will invest in both your personal and professional growth.

We have recently raised our Series B funding of $37mil, the largest round in European EdTech this year. This is an exciting opportunity to make a difference and be part of a high growth start-up that is expanding rapidly in the UK and US markets!

What We’re Looking For

We want someone who has great attention to detail who is passionate about delivering the best experience to our educators . Some traits that define success in this role:

You’re hands-on and love getting into the detail

You’ve worked across jurisdictions, including US payroll and tax 

You seek to improve and automate, not just maintain

You communicate clearly and confidently with stakeholders at all levels

️ What You’ll Be Doing

Own payroll for our educators in the US and our internal team in US and Canada. WE pay c. 2100 educators each week.

Ensuring compliance; all payroll deductions, filings, and reporting are compliant with both US and Canadian labor laws and tax regulations

Respond to educator inquiries regarding payroll-related issues, including pay discrepancies, deductions, and tax withholdings

Collaborate with cross-functional teams to support our educators

Improve and streamline processes, from payroll to invoicing

Tools & Systems

Adaptability and a tech-friendly mindset are more important.

Specific payroll system experience is not required, but experience using large scale payroll software is an asset.

A love of (and strong skills in) Excel is essential! 

Growth & Career Path

We value impact over titles. The US business is growing fast and as the second permanent hire in the finance team in the US you will have plenty of opportunity to grow. We’ll support your development with honest feedback, flexibility, and clear progression criteria. 

Our Culture

Our finance team is distributed across the UK, Europe and North America. Even though we are not all physically together we are a tight knit team and work closely and collaboratively.

We’re still building. You’ll help shape systems, not just maintain them.

Diversity and inclusion matter—and we’re still learning how to do better. If you’d be the first of something on our team, we want to support you.

What the team say:

“One of the most rewarding parts of working in finance at Zen is how embedded we are in the business. It's not just about numbers, it's about partnering with teams to make the right decisions. Zen's growth means we are constantly tackling new challenges which keeps work fresh and interesting! We are also a really close team who support each other in our day to day.”

“I genuinely enjoy my role at Zen — it challenges me, inspires growth, and allows me to make a meaningful impact to our schools, whilst working with a friendly and supportive team”

“What genuinely resonates with me about working at Zen is the powerful combination of great people (especially in the finance team) and the profound impact our business has. We're addressing critical issues. Zen has grown rapidly, both organically and inorganically, this provides many opportunities to dive into something new and is a great pathway for personal and professional development”

⚡ Hiring Process

We move fast. Here’s what to expect:

Initial chat – A quick screen to align expectations and answer questions.

Secondary chat - with Annie, our Head of Finance in the US.

Interview with Annie, our Head of Finance in the US and one other team member plus technical task (in person in our office in Vancouver) – A session to walk through your career to date, past challenges and how you’d approach real Zen scenarios.

Final values-based conversation – With a member of leadership to discuss mindset, alignment, and growth goals.

Ready to Apply?

If you’re a payroll professional in Canada with experience in US finance, and you’re excited to be part of a finance team supporting real-world outcomes in education—we’d love to hear from you.

Apply now or reach out with questions.

Diversity and Inclusion

At Zen, we strive to build a culture of equity and inclusion, where everyone is respected, valued and appreciated for their unique traits, experiences and perspectives. We are committed to creating a safe, inclusive and equitable environment where our team can thrive, regardless of age, ethnicity, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, disability, religion or beliefs. We value our differences and believe that practices of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion help us create a fairer, more compassionate environment for all. 

We welcome applicants with diverse backgrounds and different experiences and perspectives — just like the staff who teach through Zen and the children at the schools we work with. We believe in hiring the best people from the widest pool and creating an inclusive culture where people’s voices are heard and all our team can look forward to coming to work. 

We are committed to building a team that reflects the diversity of our community and promoting an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We seek out diverse opinions, beliefs, and experiences because they collectively make us stronger; we’ve had former teachers, pilots, fundraisers, engineers, lawyers, marketers, social media experts and more join our team.